Lake Beulah Management District v. State Department of Natural Resources

¶ 1. This decision explores the interplay between the public trust doctrine and the regulation of high capacity wells, especially when citizens or conservancy organizations such as lake management districts perceive that a proposed well may adversely affect nearby navigable waters. We will go through our analysis in some detail, but for purposes of this introductory statement, it is enough to say the following: The statutes identify three types of water wells, differentiated by the quantity of water they consume — wells consuming 100,000 gallons per day (gpd) or less, wells consuming over…